Identical twins charged with rape ‘as DNA cannot distinguish them’

Aftab Asghar (left) and Mohammed Asghar have both been charged (Picture: INS/Vagner Vidal)

Identical twins have appeared in court in connection with the rape of a woman as they cannot be distinguished by their DNA.

Mohammed and Aftab Asghar were bailed ahead of a December trial but prosecutors said it is possible ‘that only one of the defendants faces trial’ over the rape, which took place in November two years ago.

The 22-year-olds were due to enter pleas at Reading crown court in Berkshire, but no details about the sexual assault have yet been given.

‘It is an unusual case. They are identical twins. The allegation is one of rape,’ said prosecutor Sandra Beck, who has requested more time to pursue particular lines of inquiry.

‘There is further work due and there is an indication which would tend to support that one was not at the location. It may mean that only one of the defendants faces trial.’

Identical twins have the same DNA but different fingerprints.

A similar case unfolded in France earlier this year when 24-year-old brothers, known only as Yohan and Elwin, were arrested in Marseille in connection with the rape of six women aged between 22 and 76 as police could not tell them apart based on their DNA.